by Alexie Aaron
In this case, they may have been custom ordered. The drug informant was part of this somehow. How, didn’t matter right now. Whit had to concentrate on getting safely to the rocks and waiting for the cutter to send out help.
His knees brushed the sand. Whit launched himself upwards and ran like he did when three-hundred-pound linebackers were chasing him across the football field. He pushed through the water. Just before he hit the shore, he jumped, shooting upwards, and landed in a summersault on the beach which pushed him closer to the rocks. Whit made it to the rocks safely. He climbed and collapsed on the top. He lay on his back until he caught his breath.
“Funny thing about these rocks,” a man said, leaning over him. “They may be a bit of a problem for my pet, and they do give her prey a certain satisfaction that they have saved themselves.”
Whit couldn’t see the man’s face as it was in shadow with the sun bearing down above him.
“What do you want?” he asked, gathering his strength.
“Wants are aplenty, needs a few,” the man said.
Whit pulled his knife and started to roll into a defensive position. Unfortunately, in his rush, he didn’t consider the size of the rock on which he lay. He lost his balance and fell down hard on the beach. A tentacle wrapped around his leg. Whit folded his body and attacked it with his knife. To his satisfaction, the appendage went limp. Whit scrambled to his feet. The back of his head exploded with pain, and as the blackness took him, he thought he heard a man say, “What fun that was.”
Chapter Nine
Ted packed away his computers, securing them in the waterproof packing he and Burt had brought along for their equipment. He had sent all his data into the cloud for Jake to retrieve, right after the captain of the Azure notified them that they were requested by the Ross Bell to come to the aid of their landing party.
“But what about our shore party?” Burt asked.
“Bob Morris is an able seaman. He’ll pick them up and head for our previous fallback position.”
“But we won’t be there.”
“But he will be able to see us as he heads there. Once he clears the reef, the Zodiac’s computer will be able to pick up our heading in the message I left him.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Burt said. “How can Ted and I assist you?”
There was a flicker of relief in his eyes before he said, “We need eyes to help look for survivors, and if we find any, we’ll need help pulling them aboard.”
The Azure rounded the island and came into view of the Ross Bell. There was nothing between the cutter and the island but blue water.
“Maybe they’re on the beach,” Burt said.
The captain radioed the cutter.
They responded quickly, and within minutes, he was talking to the commander of the vessel. “We have lost the two boats we sent to deliver the landing party. We had hoped it was the magnetic interference we experienced when we arrived. We can’t get a visual from this distance. We have requested drone surveillance, but that’s hours away,” Captain Holloway, the commanding officer of the Ross Bell, informed the captain of the Azure.
“How can we help?”
“How close can you get your yacht?”
“We can cross the reef. I understand there is a hell of a sandbar that comes up quickly.”
“We need eyes on the beach. Maybe the Zodiacs were run up on the beach. All we know is that they are no longer in the water. We have six souls lost.” He went on to give more information.
When Holloway had finished, Captain Billard took a deep breath before speaking. “We’ll experience radio blackout when we cross the reef. If you don’t hear from us in thirty minutes, expect the worst.”
“Good luck, and thank you.”
He looked at his crew. “Okay, you heard him. We’re looking for two military-grade inflatable Zodiac boats. I assume they are black in color and most likely have a black fifty-horsepower Yamaha engine. Each boat yielding two passengers and a seaman operating the craft. Six people have disappeared within minutes of crossing the reef.”
“Do we know how many men and women?” Ted asked.
“All men, four Feds, and two Coast Guard,” Captain Billard answered.
The crew went to their stations. Ted and Burt took up lookout positions on either side of the boat.
The Azure started across the reef.
Mia decided that, for the safety of the salt-hating ghosts and ease of transportation, each ghost needed to enter a human. She explained the process to the Callens while Murphy schooled Kevin and Fergus. Patrick took on Kevin. Aside from the feeling of mild intoxication, he handled the possession well. Patrick, still bearing a suspicion of all things O’ Connor, wanted no part of a Fergus O’Connor possession. Mason took on the fighting Irishman with good humor but was initially disappointed when he didn’t feel any different with Fergus aboard.
“It’s a good thing that you’re not. It means Fergus isn’t wandering. The first time Murph possessed me, it was very uncomfortable. He thought he had to completely take over me, instead of sitting back and enjoying the ride,” Mia related as she pulled on her rubber soles over her angel-armor boots.
Bob brought the boat around, and they quickly boarded. As soon as they crossed the reef, he received the message from his captain. He related it to his passengers. They rounded the end of the island just as the Azure crossed the reef. Bob hung back, being careful of the wake of the sport yacht. “I’m going to fall back for safety’s sake,” he yelled over the sound of the engine.
Mia kept an eye on the yacht, willing it to pass safely where Guillaume warned was in reach of the monster.
~
Whit opened his eyes. He was immediately put off by the smell around him. There was little light. He moved his hands over his body and found most of his gear intact. However, his weapons were gone. Whit turned on the waterproof flashlight and found that what he thought was a bag of sand he was lying on was, instead, the remains of a human being. He scrambled off the pile and looked quickly around and found several of his men in likewise condition. He shook Simpson awake before he pulled the unconscious men off the charnel piles. The junior agent was non-responsive. Whit crossed the young man’s arms over his chest. He frowned as the agent’s name refused to come into Whit’s mind. What kind of leader was he if he didn’t know the names of the people in his unit?
Simpson’s voice broke through to Whit, “Agent Martin, quite a few of the dead are wearing swimsuits.”
“I see that,” Whit said, his eyes watering from the stench. “I think we found what happened to the beach excursion.”
“I noticed that all of them have a punctured skull,” Boullé called out.
“How else would I eat their brains?” a voice questioned from the dim recesses of the cavern. The voice he had heard before. It was the man from the rocks.
Whit directed his light towards the voice and watched as a tall man walked towards them. He looked at the Scandinavian, recognizing him from the list of missing crewmen the cruise ship had given him.
Event Manager Anders Larsen looked no worse for wear. His clothing lacked the clean sharp lines normally associated with crews from cruise ships, but the man seemed to be alive.
“How is it you’re still living when it looks like your patrons and crewmates have been killed? And what the hell happened to that poor man on the beach?”
“You mistake me for Anders. True, I have housed myself in his body, but he is no longer with us.”
“You killed him?” Whit asked, looking at the healthy body skeptically.
“No, of course not. I have found that the meat suit only lasts as long as the soul within. I’ve pushed him into his little happy place until I have found other quarters.”
“Who are you?”
“Who am I? That’s a difficult question to answer,” the demon admitted. “You see, when they exiled me here, they took my name. Not even I remember what label I responded to. I think I’m referred to as the demon-with-no-name.
I can’t be too sure as my contact with the outside world is spotty at best.”
Whit noticed that the two crewmen were waking up. If he could keep the demon talking, they may be able to either subdue the creature or get the hell out of this cavern of horror. “You have an amazing grasp of language considering your remote outpost.”
“When I dine on the brains of my captives, I learn from their experiences. I have a dozen languages that I keep up with. Several of which have mutated over the years. The crews give me a wealth of information. The patrons give me gossip and the benefits of remembered classes from the expensive institutions of learning they were fortunate enough to have had access to. Although frankly, most of that education was ill-used if used at all.”
“Why have you taken us?” Whit asked. “It looks like you’ve just dined.”
“I have become curious about the large ship in which you came. Soon, I’ll dine on you or one of your men and gather the knowledge I need. I’m looking for a way off this island. I’ve grown bored with my lot in life. Me and my pet’s hunger has increased. I’d like to move on to more populous areas.”
As Whit’s eyes became accustomed to the natural light of the cavern, he could see that he was on an outcropping of rock overlooking a large cavern where a body of water - possibly an underground lagoon providing access to the sea - monopolized the center.
“Seems to me, you’ve had plenty of boats at your disposal,” Whit said, looking down at the watercraft stacked at the edges of the large subterranean lake. “Are they damaged beyond working order?”
“My pet can be rather rambunctious when it comes to bringing the boats in. She is careful to preserve the humans inside, but she is murder on the finish of some of the more expensive boats. Still, many of them are still seaworthy. Alas, I can’t use them. I can’t leave this island. It won’t let me.”
“So why then have you bothered with us?”
“Beyond a meal?”
“Beyond a meal,” Whit consented.
“There is a woman on the smaller craft you have been doggedly following who may be the answer to my problems. I can leave in a human vessel.”
“You have a vessel,” Whit pointed out.
“Anders is fine for the island, but he can’t carry all of me. My intellect is gargantuan. I feel that this woman may be able to bear the immense evil that is me. When the boat she was on was within range, I reached out and tested her mind. There is room for me. Anders wouldn’t get beyond the reef before turning to ash. My minders have cursed this island with a reef that keeps me and my pet inside. One meter outside, we would cease to be. But then the pale woman came along and gave me hope. I suggest an exchange. Your life and the lives of your crew for a ride in the blonde. Hell, I’ll even throw in Anders as a bonus. But I doubt he’ll be much use to you. He’s been scarred by my treatment. This once gallant man is now but a whisper of what he once was.”
“Being possessed by a cannibal will do that to a man,” Whit said.
“You’ve taken all this in so easily.”
“You’re not my first dance with a demon. Although, your pet is rather surprising and effective.”
“She’s a century beast. Grows an arm each year. She dines on the putrid flesh of the dead, hence these piles of corpses.”
“She has to be gigantic. I doubt if anything can move her. It seems she has become one with this island. I’m suspecting she is this island.”
“Much like a smaller relative that takes on a conch shell, Lamia uses the isle to keep the sun from burning her back.”
“Does she know you’re lying to her? That she won’t be able to leave here,” Whit said.
There was a flicker of concern on Anders’s face. He avoided eye contact.
“I can’t give you the woman. She isn’t mine to give you,” Whit said. “I’m not certain she’s still here.”
“I haven’t felt her near, but I assumed she was on the boat, and it had moved just beyond my reach… But it has returned, possibly looking for you…” The demon angled his head upwards and smiled. “Yes, I now can feel the boat she was on, and now another smaller craft has crossed the reef. There is a woman on the smaller boat, but she’s not the same. She’s…” Anders turned quickly and walked a few paces and stopped. He turned back. “I’ve got things to do. I’m feeling generous. Take your men and get off this island. Swim if you have to. I’ll give you an hour before I send Lamia after you.”
Whit motioned for the others. “Men, take a quick sweep. See if any live humans are being kept anywhere. Meet me back here. We’re getting out of here, but we’re going to do some damage first.”
~
The captain slowed his cruising speed. The depth finder indicated he didn’t have much room. The reef was higher on the east side of the cove. He would have to turn around soon and head back. All eyes were trained on the beach. Each person with either a set of powerful binoculars or monoculars moved along the exposed coastline, each person noting anything out of the ordinary.
“On the center beach, forty feet from the rock edge,” Ted called out. “I have a depression. It looks like someone was digging a hole, and it was hastily covered up.”
“You’re saying it’s not natural? Not something caused by a whirlwind?” the captain questioned.
“If there was a whirlwind, you would see other swirl patterns in the sand.”
“I’ve got something in the water,” the first mate called out.
The captain slowed the engines and made a loop back to where the first mate spotted something that stood out against the sand and crystal water of the cove, a black boat engine.
“Radio the Ross Bell that we have found wreckage, and it appears that someone made landfall.”
“Do you want us to retrieve the engine?” the first mate asked.
“No time. We’ve done as we’ve been requested. Time to pick up our landing party and get wide of this storm or find a good place to shelter from it.”
Ted and Burt hung on as the yacht made a tight circle and headed back to where it was deep enough to cross the reef.
Bob moved to intercept the yacht before it hit open water. The waves on the other side of the reef had picked up, and he doubted that he would make enough headway in the surf to catch the cutter that was heading away from the island to outrun the approaching storm.
The crew of the Azure spotted their Zodiac and slowed in order to bring the boat and its passengers and crewman onboard.
Mia welcomed the hand up from her husband. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Murph moved out of her, irritated that he had to experience a little of Mia’s physical reaction to Ted.
Ted held Mia tightly. He felt her stiffen. “What’s wrong?”
“The demon is pushing hard against my defenses. I can’t imagine how she put up with it for so long. I’m struggling here.”
Ted knew she was talking about Sabine. Mia was very careful not to say her name as she herself was masquerading as the sensitive.
“It’s asking me, ‘How can you?’ over and over again. How can I what? What is it - no he, it’s a male. What’s he asking me?” Mia asked, holding her head.
“Assassin, have you come to kill me?” the voice penetrated her defense.
“I came to rescue my friends,” she answered aloud. “Leave us be, and I’ll leave you be.”
Ted looked at Mia. Gone were her moss-green eyes. Instead, a clouded gray film covered her irises. “Come on, baby, snap out of it,” Ted said.
“Lamia comes to kill you,” the demon announced.
“Something’s coming. We need to leave here!” Mia shouted, breaking the spell. She pushed away from Ted, pulled off her boot covers, and dug her feet into the deck as the first wave reversed out of the shallows and hit the yacht hard.
The Azure was pushed over on its port side, one of the engines whining as it spun in the open air. The Zodiac was pulled off the boat. The yacht righted itself, and the captain maneuvered it quickly towards the reef. The eng
ines fought hard as the returning water pulled the yacht towards the sandbar.
“It’s like a reverse tide,” Ted murmured, not confident of his nautical terms.
“Look!” Burt shouted from the top deck. “Something large and dark is moving from the interior of the island.”
The others watched as the trees were pushed down and to the side as a creature moved to the water’s edge. It moved like a spider, using its tentacles, instead of legs, to pull the large bloated body.
“What the hell is that?” the first mate asked. “Is that a kraken?”
Mia emptied her pack, storing as much as she could in her clothing before she activated her armor and started running, releasing her wings, and swooping off the embattled boat towards the creature.
Ted didn’t have time to argue with her.
Murphy did have time to join her.
Mia left them to attack the creature in order to give the boat more time to escape.
Mia flew upwards, drawing her sword and dagger before turning around and letting gravity take her like an arrow to the beast.
She aimed for Lamia’s eye and pierced it with her sword. Her momentum took her body inside the monster, pinning her wings down at her legs. Mia twisted, letting the armor on her wings carve her enough space to maneuver.
Ted watched as the creature’s tentacles probed its own battered eye looking for Mia. It screamed in pain until it had located the irritant.
Mia covered herself with her wings to keep the tentacle from crushing her as she was pulled out of the eye socket and tossed far out into the sea. She tumbled head over heels, too afraid of releasing the hold of the wings, lest they be torn from her as she hit the water. She plunged deep into the sea, continuing far below the rise and fall of the surface waves. The weight of her armor pulled Mia down fast. She opened her wings enough to retract them, using her arms to reverse her descent. Soon, Mia was moving up towards the ever-darkening storm-clouded sky.
